Run the Full Duplicate Constituent Search Process

You can run the full duplicate search process to compare and identify possible duplicate constituent records in your database. After you run a full search, you can reduce the time required for subsequent searches by running the incremental process, which compares only those records that were added or updated since the last search process was run. The first run of an incremental search process will take as long as the full search process.

Note: The search results include constituent records with updates to these personal information fields: Last name, First name, Middle name, Title, Suffix, Nickname, Maiden name, Martial status, Birth date, Gender, Social Security Number, Is inactive, Gives anonymously, Website, Image. Results also include constituents with updates to these contact information fields: Do not mail, Do not email, Do not phone, Primary address, Primary phone, and Primary email. At the database level, these are changes to the CONSTITUENT table and primary entries on the ADDRESS, PHONE, and EMAILADDRESS tables.

Tip: Has your organization upgraded to service pack 36 or higher? It enables you to use a code table of user-defined gender values. If you've upgraded, this new gender field is used instead of the old one for handling potential duplicate constituents.

  1. From Constituents, select Duplicates. The Duplicates page appears.

  2. Select Full duplicate search. The Full Duplicate Constituent Search Process screen appears.

  3. Select Edit process. The Edit full constituent duplicate search process screen appears.

  4. On the General tab, select Fast process, Detailed process, or Custom settings. For more details about each type, see Fast Process, Detailed Process, and Custom Settings.

    • The Fast process duplicate search is designed for speed and efficiency. In this mode, the search process filters out as many records as it can based on matching parts of the constituent name, email, phone, address, and other features. This type of process will generate fewer results than the detailed process, so there is a possibility that some duplicates may be overlooked.

    • The Detailed process duplicate search that will take longer than the “fast process” but can potentially find more duplicates. This process uses fewer filters to exclude potential matches. It will generate more results than the fast process and may catch some duplicates that the fast process misses.

    • Select Custom settings to run a duplicate search based on comparison settings you define. You can choose which constituents to compare, which filters to apply, and the minimum confidence level for two records to be considered a match. Because the selections you make on the Custom settings tab can cause the search process to run for an extended period time, we recommend that you use the fast process or detailed process option.

  5. If you select Custom settings on the General tab, review and configure search process options on the Custom settings tab. For detailed information about each setting available, see Full and Incremental Duplicate Search Matching Options and Filters.

  6. Select Save. You return to the Full Duplicate Constituent Search Process screen.

  7. To begin the duplicate search process, select Start process. The Recent status tab displays information about the process as it runs. After the process is done, the “Completed” status is displayed along with a green checkmark.

    Warning: The time required to run the search process can be lengthy. The duration depends on multiple factors, including the number of records being compared and the search process mode you select. If you run the process with custom settings, the custom settings you choose can also effect the process duration.

  8. After the search process is complete, run the Duplicate Constituents Report to view a list of constituent records identified as potential duplicates by the process. For more information, see Run the Duplicate Constituents Report.